Although few people know about it, an ancient well is located at the western side of the Ayutthaya hospital. There were once three monasteries at this location that have been destroyed. The well may have belonged to one of these temples at some time.

The local legend is that there is a secret tunnel inside this well that leads underneath the Chao Phraya River. Siamese residents allegedly used it to escape Burmese invaders in 1767. Most versions suggest that the tunnel’s other exit was located inside Wat PhutthaiSawan. Interestingly, there are two wells still in situ at that monastery. There are also a number of stories about people diving into the wells to drown themselves rather than face Burmese persecution. Royal Chronicles also mention several attempts by the Burmese to burrow under a river to attack Siam.

Some elderly locals swear that they actually saw this tunnel as a youth, but nobody has claimed to have entered it. The well has been repaired with modern bricks and it is now filled with water. It would be an interesting project to explore this well for a hidden tunnel. It would have collapsed long ago.

Text & photographs by Ken May - August 2009

Addendum

The well is in very close vicinity of the location where the Fine Arts Department excavated some remnants of Wat Khok Khema (named Wat Khok Yai Ma on the 2007 FAD GIS map). The well was probably part of that monastery at earlier times.